WE have all seen the devastation caused by flooding
recently. Places that had never experienced flooding previously were
totally submerged, such were the volumes of water that fell.

The site in Ringaskiddy, Co Cork, where Indaver
Ireland has applied to build two incinerators was again seriously
flooded.

Flooding there left the proposed hazardous waste
storage area completely submerged.

The WHO warns that hazardous incinerators should
not be built on flood plains. Indaver’s site clearly fails this
criterion. In addition to repeated flooding episodes, successive reports
by the Office of Public Works and the Environmental Protection Association
have pinpointed the Ringaskiddy coastal area as vulnerable to the
impact of climate change and flooding.

At the recent oral hearing, hydrologist Shane
Bennett and climatologist Prof John Sweeney left no one in any doubt
as to the site’s unsuitability.

The flooding has brought into sharp focus the
need for planning decisions that are in the interest of the communities
and society, not just private developers. We can’t afford any
more mistakes.